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Far From the Madding Crowd
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June 2015: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Book summary (from Goodreads): Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.
I listened to it in the car, waste of time, not the book, trying to listen to a book while I drive. But in between trying to save my life I have to admit that Hardy's writing style is interesting.
I read chapter 1 and started on two. Hardy is a master of intricate description. I was amused with Gabriel's watch.
Henry wrote: "I read chapter 1 and started on two. Hardy is a master of intricate description. I was amused with Gabriel's watch."Not much left to the imagination there!
I've read this before, but I was a teenager at the time and don't really remember much of it. One advantage I have now over then is my best friend Google. I found the origins of Bathsheba's name interesting; I assume Hardy named her such for a reason that will become clearer.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathsheba
Joy wrote: "I put this on hold at the library. My list this month is long and growing but I will try to get to it."Fingers crossed it comes in soon for you Joy.
I'm really trying to get to this one this month! I'm still on the hold list from my library though (probably because they are making this a movie).
RitaSkeeter wrote: "For those interested in the location of Hardy's Wessex: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas..."Thanks Rita. There is a map included in my Kindle edition but it looks pretty small. With the preface there seems to be a bit of a fuss over Wessex, not sure why.
I just purchased an E-Book copy so I will be reading along as well.
Snooping about I found out that the town in the book, Weatherbury is actually Puddletown, which is about 5 miles north east of Dorchester. On the map in Wikipedia, look on the south coast for the Isle of Slingers. Look a bit to the north east for Egdon Heath. I think Weatherbury would be right below the E in Egdon. Curious as to why the town is not shown onthe map.
Mod
Not much left to the imagination there!
I've read this before, ..."
I wondered if the name Gabriel Oak also has significance. Both Gabriel and Oak bring strong images to mind.
☯Emily wrote: "I wondered if the name Gabriel Oak also has significance. Both Gabriel and Oak bring strong images to mind...."In the Penguin Classic edition there is a footnote for Gabriel:
1. Gabriel: this name has many associations. In Christian mythology it is Gabriel who announces to Zacharias the future birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, at the Annunciation, her conception of Jesus (Luke 1). The trumpeter of the Last Judgment, Gabriel also means ‘power of God’, and in Paradise Lost Milton makes him chief of the angelic guards placed over Paradise. Although critical focus has stressed the ‘angelic’, Hardy’s allusions to Milton in this novel are frequently subversive or ironic: Gabriel Oak’s self-appointed role as Bathsheba’s moral judge is, for example, severely compromised by his espial role in which Hardy aligns him with Milton’s Satan. In Jewish mythology, Gabriel is the angel of death and prince of fire and thunder; in the Old Testament he is said to have explained visions to Daniel (Daniel 8– 9); in Islam he reveals the Koran to Muhammad.
Oak of course is a very stout and strong hardwood. The description of Gabriel in chapter 1 is somewhat oak like albeit in a stoic and unassuming fashion.
Rainey wrote: "I just purchased an E-Book copy so I will be reading along as well."Great to have you join us Rainey.
Henry wrote: "RitaSkeeter wrote: "For those interested in the location of Hardy's Wessex: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas..."Thanks Rita. There is a map included in my Kindle edition but i..."
I feel ripped off. My dead tree copy doesn't have a map!!
I think, may be wrong, the fuss is because 'Wessex' didn't exist in Hardy's time. It was in much older times, but he kind of re-invented it for his books. I read somewhere - cant remember where now - that Casterbridge is Dorchester.
Henry wrote: "☯Emily wrote: "I wondered if the name Gabriel Oak also has significance. Both Gabriel and Oak bring strong images to mind...."In the Penguin Classic edition there is a footnote for Gabriel:
1...."
☯Emily wrote: "RitaSkeeter wrote: "Henry wrote: "I read chapter 1 and started on two. Hardy is a master of intricate description. I was amused with Gabriel's watch."
Not much left to the imagination there!
I'v..."
I think Hardy was quite masterful in how he established those two main characters within the first, quite short, chapter.
With Bathsheba; we know she is vain, self-absorbed, and probably a bit arrogant. We see this both through her actions, as well as her name.
With Gabriel: he's shown as solid, unassuming, quiet. I think we can infer from his first name he's a 'good' man.
Quite interesting how quickly and easily Hardy established those two.
Bathsheba is already showing herself to be a very different type of protagonist to Tess .
Hi. I'm half way through this one. Too slow paced for my taste, but I'll finish it. If I had to choose between Tess and Bathsheba I pick Tess. Hardy's love of detail is both admirable and at times too much. At this point I don't think this one will make it to my favorite classics shelf. Well how I feel when I finish it.
Bloggeretterized wrote: "Hi. I'm half way through this one. Too slow paced for my taste, but I'll finish it. If I had to choose between Tess and Bathsheba I pick Tess. Hardy's love of detail is both admirable and at times ..."He certainly takes a lot of words, often antiques, to say something!
Through Chapter 3(view spoiler)
Henry - I think you're right! Boy that's a lot of words to say that though
RebeccaS wrote: "Through Chapter 3[spoilers removed]
Henry - I think you're right! Boy that's a lot of words to say that though"
Rays of male vision seem to have a tickling effect upon virgin faces in rural districts:
Good grief, I think I am getting the vapors.
I agree that this book seems to be moving rather slowly. So far we haven't met many characters at all.Through Chapter 8
(view spoiler)
Mod
Through Chapter 8
[spoilers removed]"
I'm in chapter 6. Life in a farming community probably progresses slowly, just like the events in the book. There are occasional life shattering events followed by many days of monotony.
☯Emily wrote: "I'm in chapter 6. Life in a farming community probably progresses slowly, just like the events in the book. There are occasional life shattering events followed by many days of monotony. "
That's a great point Emily!
Has anyone found out what "the madding crowd" means?
Mod
Mod
This is what one source says it comes from: http://dictionary.reference.com/brows...
Just starting (Chpt. 6). I wondered about the word madding also Emily so thanks for the explanation. I wonder about a lot of the words since as pointed out above they are antiquated. I did find myself smiling at Farmer Oaks proposal though, so I would have to say I am enjoying myself. In spite of the wordy descriptions (or because of), I find that Hardy paints a very clear picture in my mind of the characters and the story.
Mod
We certainly can picture each character clearly, even the dogs.
RebeccaS wrote: "Has anyone found out what "the madding crowd" means?"Footnote 2 in my Kindle Penguin Classics version said this:
Far from the Madding Crowd: Hardy’s title alludes to the following lines from Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ (1751):
Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learned to stray;
Along the cool sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
Hardy’s allusion is ironic: his microcosmic world is no less subject to ‘ignoble strife’ than any other. See also Literary Notebooks on Gray’s influence on Hardy.
Kindle location 8405.
Henry wrote: "Chapter 3 The adjustment of the farmer’s hazy conceptions of her charms to the portrait of herself she now presented him with was less a diminution than a difference. The starting-point selected ..."
It's been a long week, but that cracked me up. Thanks for the laugh.
I've fallen behind, so need to do some work the weekend to catch up to you all.
Mod
I feel very sorry Gabriel. Saving the amount of money needed to set himself up as a farmer, from wages that I assume were small as a shepherd and bailiff, would not have been an easy task. I'm sure it took a lot of dedication, drive, and sacrifice for him to achieve that. And then for it to be lost in the way it was - tragic. It kinda reminds me a bit of the Joads - just how tenuous life as a farmer can be. But, I have to say that I am loving Bathsheba. What an awesome, strong character she is compared to some of the ninnies we're usually given in Victorian lit. She's twice the man Gabriel is...
And I'll add to the whinges about Hardy's level of description. He goes on and on about stuff that doesn't matter til my eyes start to glaze over, but then the important stuff (like the loss of the flock or the fire) seems to be over lickety split within a very short time.
Michelle wrote: "Just starting (Chpt. 6). I wondered about the word madding also Emily so thanks for the explanation. I wonder about a lot of the words since as pointed out above they are antiquated. I did find ..."Loved Bathsheba's responses to that proposal.
I love Bathsheba too!
I read this book for the first time about thirty years ago and I loved it. Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite authors. Yes, I agree sometimes he goes on and on sometimes describing a scene or an emotion, but I can clearly see the pastoral landscape and the people.
I have just started this today. A re-read for me and I am reading my school copy from 1985, with my pencil jottings though its all a bit yellow now. Good thing I enjoy rural landscapes..
Welcome to everyone that has joined the discussion; I look forward to your thoughts :)
There was an exchange at the start of chapter 10 that made me giggle. Bathsheba is talking to one of her farm hands who keeps calling her 'sir'.I am wondering how readers contemporary to the novel (1874) received Bathsheba as a protagonist. She is a strong and independent woman. I am sure a woman choosing to run her farm herself was uncommon. She also seems fairly uninterested in marriage at this point which also seems ahead of the times.
RitaSkeeter wrote: "There was an exchange at the start of chapter 10 that made me giggle. Bathsheba is talking to one of her farm hands who keeps calling her 'sir'.I am wondering how readers contemporary to the nove..."
I'm sure that reading about a woman like that was scandalous back then! "How dare Hardy write about a woman with those values!" ha ha ha
For me Bathsheba started on the right foot, a strong independent woman, a pioneer if you will. But as I kept reading I started disliking her. I'm halfway through it and I hope her character picks up or makes amends before the story ends.
Bloggeretterized wrote: "RitaSkeeter wrote: "There was an exchange at the start of chapter 10 that made me giggle. Bathsheba is talking to one of her farm hands who keeps calling her 'sir'.I am wondering how readers cont..."
I'm only about 30% in. It'll be interesting to see if my views on Bathsheba change. She is kind of like Scarlett for me. A strong character I like reading about, but wouldn't necessarily want to be friends with in real life iykwim.
Karen wrote: "Picked up my copy from the library today! My copy also includes a map of Wessex. It is noted that for reference, true geographic locations are printed in capital letters; other locations noted in u..."Great to have you join us Karen!
Maybe it's just me, but Gabriel is the world's biggest drip. Poor sheep that suffered while he was busy making a point.
@RitaSkeeter and everyone else :)I know what you mean and that's exactly who I'm comparing Bathsheba too! But I think the difference between them is that Scarlett knew what she wanted and worked her behind off and Bathsheba has no clue as what she wants and gets everything done for her.
Bloggeretterized wrote: "@RitaSkeeter and everyone else :)I know what you mean and that's exactly who I'm comparing Bathsheba too! But I think the difference between them is that Scarlett knew what she wanted and worked h..."
That's a good distinction. I think, though, that despite Bathsheba being like Scarlett in that she's vain and self-absorbed, she isn't cruel like Scarlett can be. Definitely idiotic at times, but not cruel. I can't see Bathsheba working convicts for every drop of blood like Scarlett does, for example.
Classics for Beginners
Books mentioned in this topic
Vanity Fair (other topics)Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
The Goldfinch (other topics)
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (other topics)
Far From the Madding Crowd (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
William Makepeace Thackeray (other topics)Thomas Hardy (other topics)
Hope to see you join the discussion :)